The Mushroom Hour Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 162: The Flowering Wand - Rewilding the Sacred Masculine (feat. Sophie Strand) Oct 14, 2023

Show notes

Today on Mushroom Hour we join in communion with the overflowing font of mythos, play and animated everything Sophie Strand. Sophie is a poet and writer with a focus on the history of religion and the intersection of spirituality, storytelling and ecology. Her poems and essays have appeared in numerous projects and publications, including the Dark Mountain Project, poetry.org and the magazines Unearthed, Braided Way, Art PAPERS and Entropy. Their newest book “The Flowering Wand – Rewilding the Sacred Masculine” is a potent retelling of classical European myths and masculine characters like Dionysus, Merlin, Jesus that encourages men to put down the iron sword and pick up a myceliated, vegetal thyrsus.
TOPICS COVERED:

Staying Alive by Exploring Ecology
Mediterranean Religions & Arthurian Myths
Myths as Vessels of Environmental Information
Replanting Myths - Reroot, Rewild, Retell
Polyphonic Iconography
Partnership Cultures and Dominator Cultures
Medusa & Mothers Turned into Monsters
Symbiosis & Synchronism
The Rebellion of Dionysus
Gender as a Morphic Field & a Mycelial Web
The King Becomes the Kingdom
Expanding Masculinity
Jesus the Magical, Nature-Loving Rabbi
Returning to the Compost Heap

EPISODE RESOURCES:

"The Flowering Wand": https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Flowering-Wand/Sophie-Strand/9781644115961
"The Madonna Secret": https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Madonna-Secret/Sophie-Strand/9781591434672
Sophie Strand Substack: https://sophiestrand.substack.com/
Sophie Strand IG: https://www.instagram.com/cosmogyny/
"Bitch": https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/lucy-cooke/bitch/9781541674905/?lens=basic-books
Microanimism: https://www.microanimism.com/
Chlorophyllum molybdites: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorophyllum_molybdites
"Enlivenment": https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262536660/
"An Immense World": https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/616914/an-immense-world-by-ed-yong/

Ep. 161: Minnesota's Mushroom Valley - Mushroom Caves & the Unexplored Underworld (feat. Dr. Greg Brick) Sep 30, 2023

Show notes

Today on Mushroom Hour we are going spelunking with the gracious Dr. Greg Brick. Dr. Brick has worked as a hydrogeologist with environmental consulting firms, at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and has taught geology at local colleges and universities. He has edited the Journal of Spelean History for the past 20 years. He has published more than 200 articles about caves and was the recipient of the 2005 Cave History Award from the National Speleological Society. His has written for books including his most recent, "Minnesota Underground", co-authored with Doris Green and released in 2019. He served as co-editor of "Caves and Karst of the Upper Midwest", a textbook covering Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa. His work has been featured in National Geographic Adventure magazine as well as on the History Channel. He has led guided tours of caves for the Minnesota Historical Society and the University of Minnesota College of Continuing Education. Today he is taking us on a subterranean journey into the centuries-old caves of Mushroom Valley near St. Paul Minnesota!
TOPICS COVERED:

Caves, Karsts and Crevices
Natural Caves, Artificial Caves, Anthropogenic Caves
Exploring Caves & Claustrophobic Limitations
US Geography of Caves & Karsts
Human Cultures & Caves – Lore and Culture Around Caves
Hollow Earth Theory
The Underexplored Underground
Minnesota’s Mushroom Valley
Mole People of the NY Subway
Mushroom Farming from the Paris Catacombs to Minnesota
Economic Ecosystem that Supported Mushroom Farming in Caves
Subterranean Nightclubs - Mystic Caverns & Castle Royal
Conservation & Biodiversity in Cave Systems
LIDAR & Future of Exploring the Underworld

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Website: https://drgregbrick.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GregBrick
Carver's Cave: https://drgregbrick.com/carvers-cave-wakan-tipi/
David J. Weary & Daniel H. Doctor's Cave Map of the US: https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2014/1156/pdf/of2014-1156.pdf
Mystic Caverns & Castle Royal: https://twincitiesmusichighlights.net/venues/castle-royal/

Ep. 160: Osmose Studio - Biomaterials Reimagined, Mycelium Futures & Regenerative Design (feat. Ashley Granter & Aurelie Fontan) Sep 17, 2023

Show notes

Today on Mushroom Hour we are blessed once more by the presence of Mycomaterial Specialist Ashley Granter. Along with Biofashion Designer Aurelie Fontan, Ashley is a founder of Osmose Studios - a multidisciplinary design studio dedicated to exploring how society should draw inspiration and processes from Mother nature. Working with mycelium as well as natural dyes and fabrics, they aim to bring forward beautiful design that doesn’t cost the planet and actually fosters the regeneration of lost ecosystems.
TOPICS COVERED:

Birth of Osmose Studios
Working with Classic Biomaterials in New Ways
Fashion, Materials, Regenerative Design
Future of Biomaterials Rooted in Technologies of the Past?
Product Design Grounded in Consumer Experience
Dresses Made with Kombucha & Mycelium Leather
Interior Design made with Mycelium
Diverse Landscape of the Biomaterials Industry
Scaling Sustainably and Decentralized – like a Fungus
Integrating Waste Streams into New Materials
Genetic Modification vs Directed Evolution
Business’ Role in Preserving Ecosystems and Biodiversity
Biomaterials as a Craft vs Mass Production
Working with Your Life Partner as a Business Partner

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Osmose Studio IG: https://www.instagram.com/osmose_labs/
Armillaria (fungal genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armillaria
Cantharellus (fungal genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantharellus
Francis Crick's books: https://www.thriftbooks.com/a/francis-crick/219274/
"Synthetic Aesthetics" by Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg: https://www.daisyginsberg.com/work/synthetic-aesthetics-book

Ep. 159: Mycorrhizal Ecology, Soil Biodiversity & Political Instability in South America (feat. Dr. César Marin) Sep 03, 2023

Show notes

Today on Mushroom Hour we are honored by the presence of Dr. César Marin – Researcher and Academic at the Center for Research and Innovation for Climate Change, School of Sciences, Santo Tomas University in Chile. Among his many accomplished roles, César has been a Postdoc at the Department of Mycorrhizal Symbioses, at the Czech Academy of Sciences, a Researcher at the Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences of the University of O’Higgins and at the Department of Ecosystems and Environment, of the School of Agronomy and Forestry Engineering, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile AND Professor of “Soil, Ecosystems, and Global Change” at the Open University of Recoleta. Dr. Marin is the founder and lead of the South American Mycorrhizal Research Network, he is on the Board of Directors of the International Mycorrhiza Society, one of the initial members/Network laboratory of the Soil Biodiversity Observation Network (SoilBON), and a Research Associate of the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN). He is currently Editor-in-Chief of the International Mycorrhiza Society Newsletter, on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and Environment and of the Evolutionary and Genomic Microbiology section, Scientific Adviser of FungiFest, and collaborator on Skype a Scientist.
TOPICS COVERED:

Mycorrhizal Ecology
Underground Nutrient Economy
The Oldest Tree in the World
How Mineral Availability Shapes Fungal Ecologies in Soil
Starting a Research Career in Chile
Emerging Mycology Research in South America
Undiscovered Biodiversity
Living with Political Violence in Colombia
How Science can Diffuse Violence and Contribute to Positive Social Change
South American Mycorrhizal Research Network
Protecting Land Based on Below-Ground Biodiversity
Fungal Allies & Adapting to a Changing Environment
Multilevel Natural Selection Theory
How to Think About the Practice of Science

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Dr. César Marin Website: https://cesar-marin.com/
SPUN: https://www.spun.earth/
SoilBON: https://www.globalsoilbiodiversity.org/soilbon
South American Mycorrhizal Research Network: https://southmycorrhizas.org/
"Gran Abuelo" tree in Chile: https://www.sciencealert.com/a-cypress-in-chile-could-soon-break-the-record-for-worlds-oldest-tree
Butyriboletus loyo (fungus): https://www.ffungi.org/blog/butyriboletus-loyo-surviving-extinction
Cortinarius magellanicus (fungus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortinarius_magellanicus
Rhizoglomus cacao (fungus): https://www.schweizerbart.de/papers/nova_hedwigia/detail/115/101684/Rhizoglomus_cacao_a_new_species_of_the_Glomeraceae?af=crossref

Ep. 158: The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi - Exploring the Microscopic World in Our Forests, Homes & Bodies (feat. Dr. Keith Seifert) Aug 20, 2023

Show notes

Today on Mushroom Hour we are joined by magnanimous mycological scholar Dr. Keith Seifert, adjunct professor in the biology department at Carleton University. Dr. Seifert has spent more than forty years studying fungi on five continents. At Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, he did research on microscopic fungi from farms, forests, food and the built environment to reduce toxins and diseases affecting plants and animals. He was president of the International Mycological Association, an executive editor of Mycologia, and associate editor of several other scientific journals. Dr. Seifert is here to dive into his debut book The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi – Exploring the Microscopic World in Our Forests, Homes and Bodies. In this marvelous book, he invites us to see our world as one full of microbial ecological succession, symbiotic interactions with fungi and maybe an understanding that this epoch could truly be considered the mycocene.
TOPICS COVERED:

Descending into the Hidden Kingdom
Spectrum of Symbioses
The Lives of Endophytes
Holobionts
Fungi and Human Agriculture
Mycotoxins
Ancient History of Fungal Domestication – Beer, Bread & Cheese
Rot to Fermentation Continuum
Invasive Species, Biopiracy, Biocolonialism
Human Houses as Ecosystems
Mold Colonies in Our Homes
Dandruff, Candida & Fungi in the Human Microbiome
Amphibian Apocalypse
A World Powered by Fungi

EPISODE RESOURCES:

"The Hidden Kingdom of Fungi": https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-hidden-kingdom-of-fungi-exploring-the-microscopic-world-in-our-forests-homes-and-bodies-keith-seifert/17251543?ean=9781771646628
Keith Seifert iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/people/77976
Keith Seifert ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Keith-Seifert-2
"I Contain Multitudes": https://edyong.me/i-contain-multitudes
Phytophthora infestans (Irish Potato Famine Pathogen): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytophthora_infestans
UG-99 Wheat Rust: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ug99
Escovopsis aspergilloides: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escovopsis_aspergilloides
"When Darwin Comes to Town": https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34930832-darwin-comes-to-town
"The Song of the Dodo": https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/12868099

Ep. 157: Psychedelic Adventures into Microscopic Mushroom Worlds (feat. Irene Antonez) Aug 03, 2023

Show notes

Irene Antonez is a Prague based Russian/Ukrainian artist and musician, who works in the genre of bio art and botanical/mycological illustration with a focus on fungi and microorganisms. She holds two Masters' degrees: in Future Design and in Fine Art. Irene draws inspiration from her microscopic research of fungi as well as mushroom hunting, ethnomycology, ethnobotany, old scientific illustration books as well as from her family history of " mushroom obsession". She uses a microscope to explore the invisible world of tiny organisms that we typically overlook. Irene believes that it’s highly important to emphasize the spirit or « soul » in each living being no matter its scale or size. In her artwork, Irene plays with combinations of various scales to show the beauty and importance of tiny, microscopic creatures to the World. She is constantly engaged in various mushroom-related projects all around the world. She has been a guest speaker at mycological events like the Hawaii Mushroom Conference and has her artwork displayed in exhibitions both in Prague and internationally.
TOPICS COVERED:

Growing up in a Mycophilic Culture
Family Love of Art & Music
Future Design
Ethnomycology
Psychedelics & Artistic Expression
Traveling through Microscopic Worlds
The Soul and Spirit of Microorganisms
Scale & Perspective
Flow & Curiosity
Becoming a Fungal Ambassador
Inspiring Mycological Awakenings
Early Art Exhibitions
Immersion into Audio & Visual Artwork
Mushroom Foraging in Prague

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Irene Antonez Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/IreneAntonezArt?ref=search_shop_redirect
Irene Antonez IG: https://www.instagram.com/irene_antonez_art/
Mikhail Vishnevsky (inspiration): https://golden.com/wiki/Vishnevsky%2C_Mikhail_Vladimirovich-DZKYXW5
Rhodotus palmatus: https://www.mushroomexpert.com/rhodotus_palmatus.html
Hydnellum peckii: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydnellum_peckii
"The Invention of Nature" (book): https://www.andreawulf.com/about-the-invention-of-nature.html
"Entangled Life" (book): https://www.merlinsheldrake.com/entangled-life

Ep. 156: Chaotic Forager - Mycology, Ecosystems & the Explosion of Mushroom Media (feat. Gabrielle Cerberville) Jul 26, 2023

Show notes

Today on Mushroom Hour we are excited to be joined by Gabrielle Cerberville, aka @chaoticforager. Gabrielle is a wild food educator, mycophagist, permaculturist, and interdisciplinary artist. Her entertaining educational videos on Tiktok, where she shares her knowledge of edible plants and fungi, have been viewed by millions worldwide. She has lectured extensively on the importance of ecological awareness and land knowledge and believes that ethics and knowledge must go hand-in-hand to support a sustainable future.
TOPICS COVERED:

Growing Up in the Mountains of PA
Developing Mushroom Identification Superpowers
Underrated Edible Fungi
Puffball Superstar
Expanding the Wild Culinary Repertoire
Adventures in Kalamazoo
Becoming TikTok Famous
Foraging as an Evolving Practice
Social Media vs Entertainment Media
Success & Mental Health Tips for Social Media
Artistic, Acoustic, Ecological Explorations
Elevating Mainstream Fungal Understandings
Chaotic Future Plans
Embracing the Human Role as Nature's Stewards

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Chaotic Forager Website: https://chaoticforager.com/
Gabrielle's Creative Alchemy: https://gabriellecerberville.com/
Chaotic Forager TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/chaoticforager/
Chaotic Forager IG: https://www.instagram.com/chaoticforager/
Armillaria tabescens: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armillaria_tabescens
Tylopilus alboater: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tylopilus_alboater
Calvatia gigantea: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvatia_gigantea
Lab Girl (Book): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25733983-lab-girl
Braiding Sweetgrass (Book): https://milkweed.org/book/braiding-sweetgrass

Ep. 155: What a Mushroom Lives For - Matsutake & the Worlds They Make (feat. Dr. Michael J. Hathaway) Jul 18, 2023

Show notes

Today on Mushroom Hour we are graced by the presence of Dr. Michael J. Hathaway - Professor of Anthropology at Simon Fraser University (SFU), Associate Member of the School for International Studies, and the Director of SFU's David Lam Centre for Asian Studies. He is a 2022 Guggenheim Fellow and author of What a Mushroom Lives For (2022) and Environmental Winds (2013). Hathaway is a cultural anthropologist with two central interests. First, he is deeply interested in China’s place in the modern world, looking at how little-known dynamics there have created world-spanning effects in surprising realms such as feminism, environmentalism, and Indigenous rights. His aim is to disrupt the typical assumptions that globalization emerges solely from the West. Second, Hathaway is doing what he can to foster a transformation in scientific understandings based on colonial assumptions of the natural world. For a quarter-century, Hathaway has lived in, worked, and traveled in China and increasingly in Japan, where he has explored the entangled and emerging worlds of transnational environmentalism and Indigenous rights. More recently, Hathaway has been exploring hidden histories of Indigenous-led activism across the Pacific Rim and how they have shaped the contemporary world. Today we’re going to dive into his newest book, “What a Mushroom Lives For”.
TOPICS COVERED:

Environmentalism and Indigenous Rights in China
The Mushroom at the End of the World
Matsutake World Research Group
New Relationships with Biology
Human Exceptionalism
World Making
Thinking Like a Mushroom
Umwelt
Matsutake’s Economic Ecosystem
The Yi People & Their Fungal Economy
Entanglements of Yaks, Mushrooms, Barley, Trees and Public Policy
How Matsutake Continually Shapes Cultures and Economies into the Future
Efforts to Cultivate Matsutake
Can Shifting Ecological Worldviews Shape the Future?

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Michael J. Hathaway Website: https://www.michaeljhathaway.net/
"What a Mushroom Lives For" (book): https://www.amazon.com/What-Mushroom-Lives-Matsutake-Worlds/dp/0691225885
Matsutake Worlds Research Group: https://people.ucsc.edu/~atsing/migrated/matsutake/
"The Mushroom at the End of the World" (book): https://www.amazon.com/Mushroom-End-World-Possibility-Capitalist/dp/0691162751
Jakob von Uexküll: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakob_Johann_von_Uexk%C3%BCll
The Yi People: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_people
Schizophyllum commune (AKA Splitgill Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizophyllum_commune

Ep. 154: Medicinal Mushrooms, Fungal Microbiomes & Alberta's Fungal Diversity (feat. Martin Osis) Jul 11, 2023

Show notes

Today on Mushroom Hour we are joined by the magnanimous Martin Osis. Martin is passionate about wild mushrooms! He loves to look at them, touch them, smell them, taste them, and talk about them. For decades he has been educating and entertaining people and groups about mushrooms by talks, forays, workshops, identification courses and just going on and on and on about mushrooms to pretty much anyone who will listen! His enthusiasm about mushrooms makes him a sought-after speaker at many functions. Although he is an amateur mycologist, he is generally regarded as one of Alberta’s experts in mushroom field identification, constantly studying emerging scientific papers on mycology, as well as scouring the diverse habitats to see what species might be growing in Alberta. His particular interest in medicinal mushrooms comes from a strong desire to help people get and stay healthy by natural means. Other interests include fungal biodiversity, DNA sequencing of fungi, mushroom photography, and of course, edible fungi. As one of the founding members of the Alberta Mycological Society, he has been a major contributor to AMS, and has created several projects including the ever-popular Great Alberta Mushroom Foray, held in a different location annually in Alberta. He also was the driver in the formation of the Medicinal Mushroom committee at NAMA. Martin is currently on the Advisory Board of “My Fungi”, an Alberta mushroom company developing expertise in psilocybin production for research, mushroom grow kits and mycoremediation.
TOPICS COVERED:

Nature & Theology
Alberta Fungal Biodiversity Hotspot
The Russula Edibility Riddle
Leccinum Mysteries
Cataloging Fungal Diversity
What Does Fungal Biodiversity Tell Us?
Mushrooms in Eastern Medicine
Oyster Mushrooms, Statins and Your Heart
Observational Experience
Topical Applications of Medicinal Mushrooms
Fungal Microbiomes & Complex Relationships with Bacteria
The Rise of Tremella
Medicinal Mushroom Compounds
Future Projects with My Fungi, New Books and More

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Alberta Mycological Society: https://www.albertamushrooms.ca/
MyFungi: https://myfungi.ca/
Russula (genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russula
Leccinum (genus): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leccinum
Leccinum vulpinum: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leccinum_vulpinum
Lyophyllum shimeji: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyophyllum_shimeji
Tremella fuciformis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tremella_fuciformis

Ep. 153: Rural Courses - Self-Sufficient Living with Fungi, Plants and Animals (feat. Michael White) Jun 25, 2023

Show notes

Today on Mushroom Hour we are excited to chat with internationally renowned wild foods expert, wilderness skills teacher and founder of “Rural Courses”, Michael White. Michael caught the foraging bug young and early experiences of loading sheep feed buckets full of field fungi and eating them piled high on buttered toast, sentenced Michal to a life dedicated to the hunt! Foraging for plants and fungi rubbed shoulders with hunting, fishing, and farming to the extent that eating from the land became his norm and to buy from the shops an uneasy extravagance. Four years in London studying classical singing was enough to confirm that city life, or that of an opera singer was not for him and on graduating he flung himself into almost total self-sufficiency. Skills learned in childhood became essential tools for putting food on the table and driven by necessity, his foraging abilities improved rapidly. In his early 20’s Michael began teaching foraging and self-sufficiency skills. This side of life has grown into a new passion, taking him into cities, other countries, schools, but mostly the forest, to inspire and educate thousands of people about the awesome word of fungi, foraging and life on the land. Currently life is very full for Michael raising three children, teaching, expanding his understanding about medicinal mushrooms and living off the land. His greatest pleasure is to share knowledge and a love of the natural world with his son and two daughters and the fantastic people he meets through courses and workshops.
TOPICS COVERED:

Kent’s Wild Food Landscape
The Decision to Start Educating Others in the Wild
Life in the Wilds Takes Work!
Reclaiming Power through Rewilding
Foraging as a State of Mind
Diverging from Modernity
How do Foraging and Wildcraft Practices Change Social Cohesion?
Educating Children about Nature
Culinary Inspiration from Foraged Fare
Medicinal Properties of Plants & Fungi
Wild Beer, Wine and Spirits
Hunting and Working with Game
Starting the Path to Self-Sufficiency
Dangers of Our Experimental, Digital World

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Rural Courses Website: https://www.ruralcourses.co.uk/
Michael White IG: https://www.instagram.com/rural_courses/
Macrolepiota procera (AKA Parasol Mushroom): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrolepiota_procera
First-Nature (Plant and Fungi ID): https://www.first-nature.com/
Family Phallacaea (AKA Stinkhorns): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phallaceae

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